Showdown with the Shepherd

by Marianne Hering

  Patrick asked, “Are you going into the battle?”

  David lowered his head. He looked embarrassed.

  “My father thinks I’m too young to fight,” David said. He patted the leather bag. “I’m taking food to my three older brothers and the army captains.”

  “I’m sure they’ll be glad for it,” Beth said.

  David looked at her sadly. “I don’t think they’re ever glad of anything I do.”

  He walked on ahead. Patrick and Beth followed him.

  “It looks like a war zone,” Patrick said.

  Beth nodded. She thought so too. She didn’t remember anything in the Bible about a Philistine secret weapon. But if Hugh was with the Philistines, anything bad was possible.

  The Brothers

  The cousins thought the Philistine camp looked organized and powerful. The Israelite camp looked small and ragtag.

  “Is this all the people you have?” Patrick asked.

  David nodded and said, “Yes. But I believe we will be victorious.”

  “Why do you believe that?” Beth asked.

  “Because I believe in God,” David said. “Come, let’s find my brothers.”

  The cousins followed David. He stayed on a dirt path. It wove through the tents and stores of weapons. Soldiers sat and ate near glowing fire pits.

  David stopped at the camp cook’s tent.

  “Here,” David said to the cook, “this food is for the army captains.” He opened his bag and took out a lump of cheese. He gave it to the cook.

  The cook took the cheese and sniffed it. “It’s safe with me,” he grunted.

  David and the cousins passed a tent that was larger than all the others. Two soldiers stood guard on both sides of the entrance. They held long spears.

  “This tent belongs to someone important,” Beth said to Patrick.

  The front flap was open. Beth leaned her head toward the opening, trying to peek inside.

  One soldier scowled at her. He closed the tent flap.

  David pointed to a fire a few tents away. One man stood nearby, staring at the fire.

  Beth thought he looked as if he were waiting for something or someone.

  “That is my eldest brother, Eliab,” David said. He picked up his pace.

  They walked over to the man. He stood proud and tall in a tunic and leather vest. A sword hung at his side. His nose was straight and his jaw was square. Beth thought he looked like a weight lifter.

  “Greetings, Eliab,” David called kindly.

  The man turned and frowned. “What are you doing here?” Eliab asked.

  “Father sent me. I brought food for you and the captains,” David said. “I have some grains for you in my bag.”

  Eliab waved his hand to dismiss David. “Then your job is done,” he said. “Go back to your sheep.”

  Eliab turned his back on them.

  Beth thought that Eliab was being rude.

  Just then two men walked up to the fire pit. They were dressed like Eliab. The men nodded at David.

  “Greetings, brothers,” David said cheerfully. He bowed slightly. “Father sends his blessing to you, Abinadab and Shammah.”

  “Ignore him,” Eliab said to the men. “He’s only here to watch the battle.”

  “I am not!” David said.

  Eliab flicked his hand at David. “Go away, boy. We have men’s work to do.”

  David stepped back a few feet. The cousins did too.

  Eliab turned to face his brothers. He asked, “Well? What did you find?”

  Abinadab was as tall as Eliab but not as muscular. He said, “We circled the Philistine camp. They’re building something from logs. Something large.”

  “Are they building a fort?” Eliab asked.

  “No,” Shammah said. “We’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “Show me,” said Eliab.

  Shammah used his sword to poke the dirt. He scratched lines.

  “It has long logs at the sides,” Shammah said. Next he drew a circle. “And a round part at the top.”

  Eliab snorted at Shammah’s drawing. “It’s probably an altar,” he said. “The Philistines must plan to worship their false gods.”

  Abinadab shook his head. “An altar as tall as a tree? No. It’s something else.”

  “A man in strange clothes appears to be in charge,” Shammah said. “His legs are covered in tight, dark cloth. He wears long black coverings on his feet instead of sandals.”

  “The giant?” asked Eliab. “Goliath?”

  “No,” Shammah said. “This man is a foreigner. He is pale and frowns a lot.”

  Patrick and Beth looked at each other. “Hugh,” they whispered together.

  Shammah’s eyes narrowed, and he stepped toward the cousins. He pointed at them. He said, “The new man has the same skin color as these two.”

  All the brothers’ eyes turned toward Patrick and Beth.

  Shammah stepped toward them. He lifted his sword and asked, “Who are you?”

  “They are with me,” David said. He moved in between Shammah and the cousins. “They are not spies, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  Shammah’s eyes narrowed as he looked at his brother. “And why should I trust your word about them?” he asked.

  David flinched as if Shammah had struck him on the face. His face turned bright red. He stood up straight.

  Suddenly a loud horn blasted. It echoed across the valley.

  Everyone turned toward the noise.

  Across the valley, a huge man stood on a rock ledge. Even from this distance, Beth could tell he was gigantic. Humongous was the word that popped into her head.

  He also looked cruel.

  A man with a shield came alongside the giant. He looked tiny by comparison. The giant cast a shadow over him.

  “Who is that?” asked Beth. But she already knew.

  David shot an accusing glance at his brothers. He said, “This giant is the one who has struck fear into the hearts of our soldiers.”

  No wonder, Beth thought. Just looking at him scares me half to death.

  The Giant

  All the soldiers in the Israelite camp took up their weapons. They marched with spear and sword toward a brook in the middle of the valley. Their sandaled feet slapped against the dirt. Dust billowed from the ground.

  David, Patrick, and Beth followed the soldiers.

  The Israelites approached the rock. Patrick looked up at Goliath.

  The giant looked about nine feet tall. His body was covered in bronze armor. It went from his head to his shins. Across his shoulders rested a long bronze spear. It looked longer than a school flagpole.

  Goliath took the spear from his shoulders and pounded it on the rock. His shield bearer took a nervous step away from him.

  The giant shouted to the army before him. “Are you all cowards?” he said.

  No one answered.

  Goliath shook his spear violently and said, “Choose a man and let him fight me.”

  The Israelites watched him silently. David took a step forward, but Eliab dropped a heavy hand on his shoulder.

  Goliath shouted, “I will make you a deal. If your man beats me, then my army—and all the Philistines—will serve you. If your man loses, then you will serve us.”

  Again, no Israelite said a word.

  The Philistine raised both arms and shook his spear again. He roared louder than the bear. “I curse the army of Israel and the God you serve!” he shouted.

  Patrick saw David open his bag. The young shepherd took out his sling and a stone. Anger blazed in his eyes.

  “How dare he curse God!” David said.

  “He doesn’t believe in the living God,” said Shammah. “He’s been shouting the same thing every day for over a month.”

  “Will no one fight him?” David asked.

  Abinadab laughed and said, “Goliath is stronger than ten men. Who would be crazy enough to go?”

  “I would,” said David.

  “Then go to
the king and tell him so,” Eliab said. It was a challenge. “He promised to give great wealth to the man who kills this giant.”

  David frowned and said, “I wouldn’t do it for riches. I would do it to glorify the living God before the Philistine army.”

  The giant pounded his spear against the rock again. “You are all cowards!” Goliath shouted. Then he let out a rumbling laugh. He looked down at the smaller soldier and slapped him on the back.

  The man stumbled forward. Goliath spun on his heel and walked out of view.

  David turned to his brothers. He looked furious. “Someone must be willing to fight!” he said. “The living God is on our side. He will protect us!”

  Eliab grabbed David’s arm and pulled him close. “Stop showing off,” he said. “Go home before something happens to your little sheep.”

  “I’m not showing off,” David said. “If you won’t do it, then I will!”

  David yanked his arm away from Eliab’s grasp. He turned to the soldiers who had gathered around them. “Do you hear me?” he asked. “If none of you will fight Goliath, then I will!”

  David stormed away from his brothers.

  Patrick glanced at the three men. They glared at their little brother.

  Patrick grabbed Beth’s arm. “Come on,” he said.

  Beth looked angry. She asked, “Why do David’s brothers treat him so badly?”

  “Maybe because he’s smaller than they are,” Patrick said. “Or maybe they don’t want him to get killed.”

  The cousins came alongside David.

  David was angry. “What has happened to our army?” he asked. “Is the giant right when he calls us all cowards? Well, I’m not a coward.”

  “We know,” Beth said.

  David sighed. “They have lost heart,” he said. “They have forgotten who gives them strength.”

  “You!” a soldier shouted and raced up to them. He was dressed in armor and held a sword.

  David and the cousins froze where they were.

  “Come with me,” the soldier said to David.

  “Why?” David asked the soldier.

  The soldier pointed at the large tent in the center of the camp. He said, “King Saul wants to speak with you—now!”

  The King

  The soldier led David, Patrick, and Beth to the large, guarded tent. It was the same one Beth had wondered about earlier.

  Guards pulled back the flap over the tent entrance. The soldier motioned for David, Patrick, and Beth to enter.

  The tent was about the size of her living room at home. Thick, colorful carpets covered the floor. Stacks of pillows lay along the walls or on low couches. Wooden tables were scattered throughout the space.

  The tent was lit with torches. Their flames cast a yellow glow across a man’s face.

  The man was resting on a couch. He wore sandals and a fancy robe. A crown sat on black hair. The man stroked his long beard. The soldier who had brought David and the cousins bowed to him.

  “My king,” the soldier said, “I bring you David, the youngest son of Jesse from the tribe of Judah. These two are his companions.”

  The soldier bowed again and left quietly.

  The king motioned them forward. David moved first and then stopped at the edge of the couch. He bowed. Patrick and Beth came near David and did the same.

  King Saul gazed at the cousins and said, “David, son of Jesse, who are these two children? They are not of your family.”

  David said, “This is Patrick and his cousin Beth.”

  “They are not of Israel,” the king said.

  “No, my king,” David said.

  “Where are you from?” King Saul asked Patrick and Beth.

  “Odyssey,” Patrick replied.

  The king lifted an eyebrow. “I have never heard of it.”

  “It’s far away from here,” Beth said.

  King Saul looked at Patrick. “You have a strange name,” said the king. “What does ‘Pah-trick’ mean?”

  Patrick swallowed hard. “Mean? I don’t know. It was my uncle’s name,” he said.

  King Saul looked at Beth. “Beth? Are you named after our town of Bethlehem?”

  Beth curtsied. “No, sir,” she said. “My name is short for Elizabeth.”

  The king thought for a moment. Then he turned his gaze on David. “You boasted about killing the giant. Is that true?”

  “I did not mean to boast, my king,” said David. “But by the power of God, I will defeat Goliath.”

  The king sat up. He said, “How can you fight Goliath? You are but a boy. Goliath has been a warrior his entire life.”

  “As my father’s shepherd,” David said, “I have killed lions and bears to save my flock. This giant is no stronger than they are. Not when he defies the army of the living God.”

  “A nice speech,” the king said. “Are you prideful or simply out of your mind?”

  “Neither, my king,” David said softly.

  “The Lord saved me from the mouth of the lion and the claws of the bear. He will save me from this giant.”

  King Saul rose from the couch and came close to David. The man towered over the shepherd.

  “Lions and bears are one thing. But have you seen this giant?” King Saul asked. “I stand taller than all the men of Israel. And yet Goliath is two heads taller than I am.”

  King Saul marked David’s height with his hand. The shepherd came only to the middle of Saul’s chest.

  The king paced the tent. His sandals made no sound on the plush rugs. He sighed. “This is a problem.”

  “Don’t lose heart, my king,” David said. “I will fight him.”

  The king looked at David. Fear was in Saul’s eyes. He said angrily, “I need a man, and God sends me a boy?”

  The king sat in silence. David and the cousins stood for a moment, waiting. King Saul seemed to be thinking.

  “You are brave enough to face Goliath?” the king asked David.

  David nodded. “Yes,” he said.

  “Then let the Lord be with you,” the king said. He clapped his hands, and two guards came inside.

  “Get my armor,” King Saul told them. The two men went to the back of the tent. They opened a large chest and brought out King Saul’s armor.

  “You, little shepherd, will wear my armor into battle,” King Saul said to David.

  David bowed. The men pulled a shirt made of metal scales over his head. Then a breastplate went on. Even David’s shins were covered with armor. Finally the men placed a bronze helmet on David’s head.

  Then King Saul handed David his royal sword.

  David tried to walk. The sword clanked against the metal on his shins. David’s knees buckled under the armor’s weight. He could hardly move at all.

  Beth shook her head at the sight. The armor was too big. David looked like a boy playing dress-up.

  “I can’t go with these,” David said. He dropped the sword and pulled off the armor. Everything fell in a pile on the carpet.

  “So shall it be,” King Saul said.

  The king pointed to Patrick and said, “You must carry a shield for David.”

  Patrick stepped forward. A guard gave him Saul’s shield. Patrick lifted it up. He almost fell over from the weight of it.

  The king turned to Beth. “And you must carry Judah’s banner into the battle,” he said. “If David wins, his tribe will be honored.”

  Beth was given a pole with a flag on top. It had the picture of a lion on it. She waved it back and forth.

  Suddenly loud voices and shouts came from outside.

  David, the cousins, the guards, and King Saul looked toward the tent’s entrance.

  The tent flap was pulled back. A guard stepped in. “My king,” he said, “there is a messenger from the Philistines to see you.”

  “If you are certain he hasn’t come to kill me, send him in,” the king said.

  The guard went out. He quickly returned with a man who carried a small olive branch.

  Patrick�
��s jaw dropped open. Beth gasped.

  The messenger was Hugh.

  The Trick

  Hugh came to the center of the tent. He wore a proud smile.

  The guards closed in to capture him.

  Hugh raised the olive branch.

  “Don’t arrest me,” Hugh said. “I come as a messenger for the Philistines.”

  Hugh’s eyes widened when he saw the cousins.

  “How did you follow me?” Hugh asked.

  King Saul glared at Patrick and Beth.

  “You know this man?” he asked.

  Patrick cleared his throat. “Kind of. From somewhere else,” he said.

  “He’s a troublemaker,” Beth said. “Don’t listen to him.”

  Hugh scowled and snorted at her. He looked at the king and said, “You’ll want to listen to me. Unless you want a war.”

  “We have one already,” King Saul said. “Deliver your message and be gone.”

  Hugh smirked.

  Patrick looked at Hugh’s hands. The ring wasn’t on his fingers. Where was it?

  Hugh bowed and said, “I bring you tidings from the giant of Gath, Goliath.”

  As Hugh bent low, Patrick could see a leather strap around Hugh’s neck. Was the ring on the strap?

  Hugh stood and said, “You have refused to send a warrior to battle Goliath. The Philistines demand you surrender now. Become their slaves, or the Philistines will attack and kill you all.”

  King Saul leaned forward. “We have selected our champion,” he said.

  Hugh looked surprised. “And who is your champion?” he asked.

  David moved forward and said, “I will challenge Goliath by the power of God.”

  Hugh glanced at David. “This boy?” he asked. “How can he defeat Goliath?”

  Patrick had a feeling that Hugh had known David would offer to fight. He must know the story from the Bible, Patrick thought. So what is he up to?

  King Saul gazed at Hugh and said,

  “How he defeats Goliath is our business. I will never surrender. Tell Goliath.”

  “As you wish,” Hugh said. He strode to the tent entrance. He stopped under a torch attached to a pole. “You’ll be sorry you followed me!” he said to the cousins.